


We're Not Meant to be Alone

by NamelesslyNightlock



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Andy | Andromache of Scythia Needs a Hug, Andy | Andromache of Scythia Smiles, Driving, Families of Choice, Feels, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Happy Ending, Introspection, Post-Canon, Team as Family, Tired Andy | Andromache of Scythia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26061286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: When the team returns to France, Andy can’t help but feel like she’s left something undone—and she finds herself back under the familiar green sign of a 24-hour pharmacy.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 85





	We're Not Meant to be Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rabentochter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/gifts).



> **Rabentochter** had a very particular thought about a particular scene, and while this is entirely _not_ what was being referred to at the time, I hope you enjoy what was inspired regardless 😆

They probably shouldn’t have been back in France.

Andy couldn’t help but think it—it was too soon after they’d been found in Goussainville, and usually, they’d steer clear of anywhere within the same region for at _least_ a couple of years. But when they’d all agreed that they needed a break, Nile had admitted that she’d hoped to see the Eiffel Tower after she’d heard the word ‘Paris’ – _Overrated_ , Joe had told her, but as the alternative suggestions came flowing in Nile had looked disappointed enough that Joe had folded _immediately_ – and so, Paris was where they had gone.

It still set Andy’s teeth on edge, still gave her an itch that was impossible to scratch. Logically, she knew they would be okay. Copley would erase their existence, make it so there wasn’t enough of Merrick Pharmaceuticals left to ever bother them again. But France was a reminder of so many things that _none_ of them needed a reminder of, and the closer they got… the more she felt as if she was about to crawl out of her own skin. Not a major discomfort, just… a feeling, as if there were something missing. Something she needed to do before she could settle.

They booked into a hotel, using cash and new identities. One big room for all of them—Andy was fine with sleeping on a couch, and she knew they’d be better able to let their guard down if they were together.

But as the other three began to relax, spreading out across the couches and other various generic furniture, Andy just _couldn’t_.

“I’m going out,” she said, turning around and heading back to the door she’d barely just entered through.

The others gave assorted noises of acknowledgement – Nile curious but not worried, Nicky and Joe knowing her well enough to feel both – but none of them followed her, and she settled into the car alone.

She couldn’t have said _where_ she was going. She did pause for a moment with her hands on the wheel, as being away from the others after what had happened was its own brand of uncomfortable. But they were all perfectly capable of looking after themselves, and besides—she wouldn’t be gone long. So she turned the key, and she _drove._

She let her mind wander, eyes on the road but thoughts on the future just as much as in the past. It would be a lie to say she was scared, she’d been through far too much for a nearing ending to scare her. No, it wasn’t what was to _come_ that stayed in her mind, that clung to the edges of her thoughts. It wasn’t even the fact that she was in godforsaken _France._ France was fine.

But _she_ wasn’t.

She had been right. There _was_ something she needed to do.

Andy was already heading in the right direction, perhaps having subconsciously decided before she’d even reached the car. It was an easy matter to go the rest of the way, and this time, as she drove, Andy finally allowed the sense of purpose to settle her mind.

It had been dark when they’d arrived in Paris, and by the time she parked the car the sun was only a few hours away from being back in the sky. She drew in a fortifying breath that she felt she shouldn’t really have needed, and then slid from the car and strode toward the familiar green sign of the 24-hour pharmacy.

Only as she was walking through the door did she think about how ridiculous this was, the slimness of the chance—yet when she glanced at the counter, it was to see a familiar face, kind eyes and dark makeup.

The woman remembered her. It was clear in the slight widening of her eyes, the minuscule twitch of her lips. Andy took half a step, then paused, finding that now she was here she was unsure of what to say.

“Can I help you?” The woman’s tone was gentler than it needed to be for greeting a customer, and it grew minutely softer on her second question. “Are you all right?”

Andy was still a little unsure of herself in a way that felt mostly foreign, but the sound of a voice was enough to bolster her, and her head was high as she took a step forward, her thoughts quick but organised as she unravelled exactly _why_ she had decided to come.

She wasn’t there to buy anything, of that she was at least sure. She wasn’t there to make certain that the woman was all right, which was her usual reason on the very, _very_ rare occasion she thought to check on someone after a mission. For that, the person usually had to have had some kind of significant impact. The kind of impact Andy couldn’t get out of her head.

_Today, I put this on your wound. Tomorrow, you help someone up when they fall._

By the time she was stopped in front of the counter there were two words on the tip of her tongue.

Perhaps it was Copley’s board that had made her realise just how much this woman had done for her, perhaps it had been Nile, or perhaps it was something else entirely. But in that moment, those two words felt like some of the most important she’d ever uttered.

The only two words that mattered.

_“Thank you.”_

And when the woman smiled, Andy found herself smiling back, her unease finally – and _entirely_ – melting away.

**Author's Note:**

> After this, I think Andy feels a little lighter. Whether she stays for a chat or not, by the time she gets back to the hotel there’s a calmness about her that wasn’t there before. The others notice immediately, of course, despite having only just woken at the sound of the door. Nicky brings her a hot drink, while Joe offers her a soft smile and a warm hug. Nile, still new, is somewhat unsure, but gets out a game for them all to play (Which is a bad idea, by all accounts, but it helps them to get their minds back into the present).  
>   
> And Andy’s not sorry she went, she’s glad she could thank the one who helped her understand the impact that she, herself, has had on the world. But now, she’s back where she belongs, back with her family. She’s always known that she’s not alone (even since she lost Quynh, logically she _knows_ she still has the others)—but now, surrounded by the people who love her, she finally allows herself to _feel_ it.


End file.
